The Camping Trip
by YOU djabbic
Summary: Sayori, Monika, Yuri and Natsuki all go on a camping trip together! Drama, fluff and humor included. (Team SYMN)
1. The Road Trip

**Disclaimers:**

 **I do not own any of the DDLC characters.**

 **i am an amateur writer.**

 **Chapter uploads are random, there is no scheduled release dates of each chapter.**

* * *

The sky is crystal clear, perfect for a camping trip, which is exactly what the girls have been waiting for.

After school, Monika sits near her car in the near parking lot where they had planned to meet after school. She sits there, waiting for the others to arrive at any moment. She soon looks up to see Sayori hopping towards her from a distance in her usual bubbly form.

"Hi Sayori!" Monika gets up and waves.

Sayori lets out a squeal before hugging Monika and jumping up and down. "I'm so excited!" She says with a smile, about ten times bigger than her usual one.

"I can tell!" Monika gives a slight giggle before she sees Natsuki and Yuri walking together from afar.

"Yay! The time is almost here!" Sayori says, starting to get more jumpy.

"Hello." Yuri greets Sayori and Monika with a warm smile.

"You guys got here faster than I expected." Monika said.

"I call shotgun!" Sayori yells while running towards the passenger seat.

"Hey no not fair!" Natsuki chases her but is too late as Sayori is already sitting in the passenger seat.

Monika and Yuri proceed into the car, along side Natsuki, who reluctantly gets in the back seat aside Yuri.

"Move your arm..." Natsuki mumbles.

Yuri ignores her and digs out a book from her bag.

"All of our stuff is in the trunk right?" Monika asks outloud

"Ugh hold on." Natsuki takes off her seatbelt and peeks behind her seat and into the trunk to see a bunch of pink, black and red bags. "Yeah, these should be ours!" She says while struggling back into her seat.

Sayori lets out an "Eek!" in excitement. "Go team SYMN!"

Monika chuckles while shaking her head.

"You _would_ make your name first Sayori." Natsuki says. "Why is my name last?"

"Because I thought of it!"

"How about some music?" Monika says, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Uuu, what type of music?" Sayori starts digging through Monika's phone searching for a song.

"Hey-"

"What's this?" Sayori comes across a folder called "My friend's favorites".

"Oh it's uhh... An idea I came up with, but i never really asked you guys..." Monika explains.

"Huh? There's one song in here."

"Yeah, it's where i got the idea, remember when Yuri was humming a song in the clubroom?"

Yuri looks up from her book and blushes in embarrasment. "I'm- I'm really sorry about that..."

Sayori giggles. "It's okay! You sounded good! Better than me!"

"It was pretty funny too" Natsuki giggles.

"God, why did I do that..." Yuri buries her face into her book.

Natsuki slowly and awkwardly pats Yuri. "There there..."

"I was gonna ask you guys what songs are your favorites but... Real life stuff got in the way." Monika explains, her usual smile fading away.

"You okay?" Sayori asks concerned.

"Yeah!" Her smile reappearing. "I mean, it's _kinda_ what gave me the idea to start this whole trip thing. So in a way, it was good for me!"

Even for her enthusiasm, things still got awkwardly quiet in the car.

Sayori suddenly turns around towards Natsuki. "Are there any snacks back there?" She gives an innocent smile.

"Sayori we just started driving..." Natsuki says while trying to hide a bag with snacks in it.

"Please? Only one, I promise!"

"Let her have one, but only _one_. We don't want to eat it all in one day, let alone the road trip." Monika explains.

Sayori nods with a smile and Natsuki rolls her eyes.

"Here." She tosses Sayori a chocolate bar of some sort. Sayori carelessly rips open the wrapper and stuffs the chocolate all in her mouth at once without hesitation.

Natsuki looks away quickly, clearly disgusted. "That was actually gross."

"But it tasted shoo goood." Sayori says, with her mouth still full of chocolate.

Yuri looks up from her book again. "How long is the drive again?"

"I dunno, an hour? Sayori can you check? It should be on my phone." Monika asks. Sayori reaches for the phone but Monika quickly realizes that her hands are most likely still covered in chocolate. "Nevermind, here." She quickly grabs the phone before Sayori can and tosses it to the back seat, which lands on Yuri's lap.

Yuri searches through the phone. "47 minutes..."

"Better get comfortable." Monika smirks.

Natsuki sighs. "I should've brought my manga."

"It's in the pink bag." Yuri mumbles.

"Huh? Really?" Natsuki checks the bag, and sure enough all her manga are stacked neatly in it. "How'd you know Yuri?"

"Huh? Oh I... Hope you don't mind but I noticed you left it and Monika gave me permission to grab it... For you... Sorry..."

"Pshh don't worry that might be the least uncool thing you've ever done for me!"

"Uhh... Thanks?" Yuri looks confused at the strange compliment, if you can even call it that.

While driving, Monika could swear she could feel someone's eyes on her. She wanted to take a glance around the car but doing that would mean taking her eyes off the road, and she really didn't feel like killing herself and her friends just for a weird feeling. But it was still driving her crazy.

"Anyone wanna play a game?" Monika spats out. Which somehow made the eyes feel like they dissapeared.

"A game?" Yuri's eyes drifts from her book.

Sayori gasp. "What kind of game?"

Rapid thoughts went through Monika's head. She hadn't _really_ thought about it, she didn't even know why she had said it. "Uhh... Forget about it..." She felt a little awkward about it.

Natsuki rolls her eyes in frustration. She had been caught out of her book by Monika's strange act. Who just soon shrugged it off as one of those random things.

"Erm... Sorry guys, I felt like someone was staring at me and it sorta just came out as a distraction..." Monika explains, only getting more embarrased.

"Oh, that's because you have a Cheeto in your hair, and I waa wondering if I could eat it?" Sayori explains, casually.

"Im gonna take that as a yes." She takes the Cheeto from Monika's hair and eats it without hesitation. "Hmmm!"

" _Did that just happen?_ " Monika thinks to herself.

"Why did I watch her eat that?" Natsuki says, trying not to throw up.

Yuri would find herself glancing at the other girls from time to time, she made herself out to enjoy this trip, but anxiety was killing her. She didn't want to fail or get hurt, especially in front of the others. Many thoughts of how it could happen ran through her brain, the worse thoughts were things that could happen to her friends. Her expression must've been showing because she was suddenly awoken by a voice.

"You okay there Yuri?" Sayori had asked.

How much had she been showing to the point where someone she was behind could tell something was wrong? Instead of bringing the mood down, she decided to hide her worries. "Uhh... Yes... Sorry, I kinda spaced out."

"Hmmm... I'm just gonna..." Sayori slowly reaches for the bag with the snacks in it. That explains why she was looking back at them in the first place.

"Sayori is your seatbelt on?" Monika's voice sets Sayori back.

She desperately fumbles to put the seatbelt back on. "It is now!" She gives an awkward laugh while quizically glancing at Monika, who just smiles back to her in return.

Yuri glances over at Natsuki to see what she's reading. It seems to be the same book she always reads.

Yuri is somewhat curious. "Uhm..." She nervously taps on Natsuki's shoulder.

Natsuki's head pokes up from her book. "What?"

Although cute, Yuri knows how harsh Natsuki can be, which makes her a little nervous. More than usual. "Uhm... If you don't mind me asking..."

"What is it?" Natsuki responds, seemingly getting impatient.

"Why do you... Well... I've noticed you read that book a lot..."

"So?"

Yuri gulps, she can tell she's making her mad. "I... You seem to read it a lot and I'm just curious to know why..."

Natsuki gives a puzzled expression. "Do you actually care or is this some sort of trap?"

"I-"

"She just wants to know why you love the book more than you love us." Monika says, from what seems like out of nowhere, with a smirk.

Natsuki's eyes shoot through Monika's head.

"Whoops!~" Monika says, casually.

"If you weren't driving right now I'd hit you!" Natsuki threatens.

" _Why did I bother asking?_ " Yuri thinks to herself.

"Are we there yet?" Sayori whines.

"Yes, that's why we're still driving." Natsuki says.

"Don't worry Sayori, we're almost there." Monika says.

Sayori crosses her arms and looks out the car window.

Monika thinks to herself. "Hmmm... You guys wanna hear a story?"

Sayori shoots back up. "Uuu, a story!?"

"Mhm."

"Sure." Natsuki says.

"Don't see why not." Yuri mumbles.

"Back when I was ten years old-"

"Woah you were ten?" Sayori asks Monika.

"..." There us a moment of awkward silence.

"We've all been ten years old Sayori..." Natsuki says.

"Aaaanyways" Monika continues. "But yeah, when I was ten, there was this cute guy I liked. Really handsome, and sweet."

"Go on..." Sayori says, intrigued.

Monika chuckles nervously. "Well long story short I _kinda_... burned his clothes..."

"What and how?" Natsuki says, loudly.

"Jeez Monika!" Sayori practically shouts.

"Quite a turn of events..." Yuri says.

"How did that even happen?" Natsuki asks.

"Well... I kinda got jealous of how close he was getting with another girl... Jealousy sucks." Monika explains.

"Well let's hope it doesn't happen with anyone else." Natsuki says, sarcastically.

"Please Natsuki, I'm sure she's learned from her past mistakes." Yuri says.

"Pff, yeah. I'm not a dumb kid anymore I wouldn't do something like that again." Monika says.

"Hey you weren't dumb!" Sayori says.

"If you say so." Monika says with a slight smile.

"I understand completley." Yuri says. "I got too close to my friend and I'm pretty sure she still hates me to this day..."

"Woah, girls you say?" Natsuki wiggles her eyebrows.

"What, no not like _that._ " Yuri says, nervously. "I... Showed her something and she got scared and we stopped talking after..."

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "If she can't accept your flaws then maybe she wasn't a good friend." Natsuki says.

"I think we _all_ hide our flaws in one way or another." Monika says.

Natsuki and Sayori sit there awkwardly.

"She's right though." Sayori says, in a happy tone.

"Well atleast mine doesn't lead to burning people's clothes." Natsuki turns towards Monika. "Well... Most of the time..."

Natsuki finds herself getting lost in her thoughts. " _Getting away from my dad is gonna be nice_ " She smiles at the thought. " _God I hope this trip goes well._ " She starts arguing with herself in her head. " _No, I didn't forget my blanket!_ " Her thoughts suddenly get interrupted.

"Natsuki?" A soft voice says.

"Huh?" She looks up to see Yuri right in front of her. Which causes her to jump back.

"Sorry... I didn't know if I should wake you or not but you kinda fell asleep on my shoulder so..." Yuri explains.

"Jeez, how did I manage to do _th_ _at_?" Natsuki shivers.

Yuri simply nods and awkwardly returns to her book.

" _Her arm was comfty..._ "

The four girls are almost at their destination, for now they are amazed by the view of the area. Large mountians, huge waterfalls and of course trees in every direction. Sayori once again starts getting jumpy.

"I wouldn't be too excited if i were you..." Monika says with a smirk. "Out here no one can here you scream!"

"That's not funny..." Sayori pouts.

"Oh come on, you know I'm joking Sayori." She nudges her with an elbow. "Plus, as long as I'm here, no animal or creature will hurt you guys."

"R- Really?" Sayori's lights up.

Monika shrugs. "I don't know."

Sayori sinks back into her seat again.

"Pshh, I'm not afraid of any bears." The tiny girl in the back says. "There... There aren't any bears here right..? Right Monika?"

"Don't think so." Monika shrugs again.

Natsuki sighs in relief.

"Yeah no bears, there's most likely wolves though."

Natsuki's stomach sinks.

"Something wrong?" Monika gives her an innocent smile.

"No..." Natsuki nervously looks around the car.

"There there..." Yuri pats Natsuki awkwardly and slowly.


	2. It Begins

After the long drive, the 4 of them are eager to get out of the car in which they had been sitting in for about an hour.

However, for the time being they are admiring the view from the car. Until Monika stops the car near an open spot with huge space.

"Here we are!" She said while turning back to look at the others.

Sayori practically jumps out of the car and rubs her eyes with a bright smile. Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika simultaneously get out of the car aswell. Yuri breathes in, enjoying the silence in the air, except for the occasional birds chirping. There's a moment of silence between the girls, only lasting a few seconds but feels like ages.

Soon Monika starts pulling things from the trunk and the others follow.

"So this is where we're staying for the next few days?" Sayori says.

"Yep." Monila chirps while tossing a small bag onto Yuri's chest.

"Ow..."

Natsuki digs out a bag that is about 2x the size of her and puts it around her back, forcing a normal expression through obvious pain. "What- Are you- Looking at?" She says with her voice trembling.

Sayori pokes the bag. "Are you sure you can carry that?"

"Yes!" Natsuki swings the bag trying to turn towards Sayori which almost knocks her on her butt. She sighs. "It'll be lighter once i get all this crap out of it!"

"Bag coming through!" Monika shouts.

"Huh?"

A bag suddenly hits Natsuki in the stomach which causes her to fall backwards from the weight of the bag.

"Oops." Monika says, trying not to laugh.

Yuri picks the fallen girl back up. Whose eyes suddenly turn towards Monika. Who in return gives an innocent wave.

~

"So where exactly do you plan on putting this bag?" Monika asks Natsuki.

"Didn't... Really... Think this through..." Natsuki says, trying to keep a normal expression through back pain.

"You... Sure you don't want to just put it down for now?" Monika says.

"Fine..." Natsuki acts like she doesn't want to, but she needs to get rid of the bag before her back explodes. She throws the bag onto the floor and moans in relief.

Monika pokes her head up from behind her. "That's a weird noise to make after setting a bag down.

"Shut up." Natsuki says while collasping onto the bag.

Monika giggles and leaves the resting teen there in peace. She then approaches Yuri. "Mind helping me set up the tents?"

Yuri jumps a little. "Eh? Me?"

"Well Sayori is a little clumsy." Monika explains

"Hey..." Sayori pokes her head up from the trunk.

"And I can't exactly ask Natsuki right now because..." Monika points towards Natsuki, who's still laying on her bag like a broken toy.

Yuri nods. "I understand, I'll help."

"Thanks!~"

Monika and Yuri start setting up the two tents. Both so big that it's a surprise they even fit in the car.

"Eh? There's only two..." Yuri stutters a bit while asking.

"You didn't know that?" Monika looks back at her puzzled. Which causes Yuri to look down.

"I... I don't quite recall that..." She could've sworn she would remember something like that, the idea of sleeping next to someone didn't sound too comforting for her, even if it was just a friend.

"Yeah we discussed a few days ago, Natsuki couldn't ask her dad to a buy a tent-" Monika suddenly stops. "Wait you aren't nervous about sleeping with a friend are you?"

Yuri gulps. "Eh... I..."

Monika takes a deep breathe. "I... Probably should've worded that better shouldn't?" She chuckles.

That doesn't help Yuri's case, but the other two over hear and come over to investigate what the topic is about.

"Something wrong?" Sayori asks.

"Uhh... I..." Yuri wants to get the words out but... Nothing but stuttering is coming from her mouth.

"She's nervous about sleeping with a friend." Monika says, with her smile growing bigger.

Natsuki frowns. "Jeez I never thought of you as _that_ kind of girl Yuri."

"Wha- No! She didn't... That's not..."

Natsuki burst out in laughter.

"I'd sleep with all of you, and give you all big hugs!" Sayori blurts out, oblivious to the current situation.

Monika nods in agreement and Yuri sighs.

Natsuki sighs too, as well with a painful expression. "Look, if it makes you feel any better _I_ don't want to share tents with any of you either, but..." Her face suddenly turns red, it's hard to tell from anger or embarrasment. "I'll... I'll sleep by you but you have to be at least be a foot away!" She makes a weird gesture trying to indicate the distance.

"I... It's better than nothing." Yuri feels a slight relief that hides the anxiety that still lurks around her.

"Aww so cute!" Sayori squeaks.

"Too bad for you two, _I_ get Sayori!" Monika wraps her arm around the peach haired girl.

Yuri clears her mind. "We... We should probably finish setting the tents up..."

Monika gives an understanding nod and they go back to setting up the tents while the other two head off.

~

Natsuki and Sayori walk around the area waiting for the other two to set up the tent.

"Hey... The wolf thing... Monika was joking, right?" Natsuki looks around the area.

"Yeah I think?" Sayori scratches her head. "At least the wolves would appreciate my hugs..."

"Sayori for the last time, the problem isn't your hugs, it's you."

Sayori pouts. "Meanie..."

"What? I'm just telling the truth."

Sayori looks around for something to do, she doesn't say anything back to Natsuki but she soon sits down on a log and starts playing with a stick, while Natsuki approaches her.

"Jeez you must be bored..." Natsuki stands next to the sitting girl. "Sayori?"

"Is it true... Am I... A problem?" Sayori asks in a normal voice.

Natsuki feels her stomach ache. She's never been fond of comforting people. But seeing Sayori like this actually makes her feel a little guilty. She sighs. "Sayori... I- I'm sorry, okay?"

"You... You don't mean that..." Sayori smiles at Natuski, an unusual reaction to the words that just came out of her mouth.

Natsuki was getting annoyed. "Of course I mean it! I mean... I don't know..."

Sayori doesn't say anything, except give a weak nod.

"Ugh." Natsuki forces herself to sit next to Sayori and hug her. "You mean a lot to us, _all_ of us, especially Monika!"

Sayori turns away and shakes her head. "Why? I don't deserve it..."

"If you don't deserve it then why would you be Vice President? If you weren't here with us, I could already tell things would be a _lot_ different..." She wasn't sure if she was helping Sayori

Once again, Sayori smiles though, not convincingly she nods. "We should go back, they're hopefully done by now. Come on!" She gets up and marches away.

Natsuki sighs in relief about it being over, but also feels guilty that she'd rather not help. She drags her feet and follows the bouncy girl. "Wanna explain what _that_ was?"

"Huh?" Sayori looks back at Natsuki. "Don't worry about it! The only thing we should be worried about is having fun!"

"I sometimes wonder if you think about the things that come out of your mouth." Natsuki says.

~

Back at the tent, Monika and Yuri sit and wait for the other two to appear. Yuri glances over to see Monika writing in a notebook of some sort. Even though she's curious about what she's writing, her mouth refuses to let her speak. Yuri takes a deep breath in attempt to get the thoughts out of her mind. But it must've been too obvious again...

Monika looks over towards Yuri. "Something bothering you?"

"Eh? No... It- It's nothing..."

"Yuri please I can tell when something is wrong with my club members, it's my job! Plus it's sorta easier tell when you're down." Monika looks down. "That... That wasn't supposed to come out that way..." Monika shakes her head in embarrasment. "Sorry!"

"I- It's fine..."

"No, it's not." Suddenly Monika stands and walks towards Yuri and sits next to her, which only makes her feel worse. "Is this about the tent thing earlier? If so I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have joked the way I did..."

It would make Yuri feel better, if that was the core problem. She still hadn't told anyone about the anxiety she's had the past weeks about the vacation. "...Thank you Monika..." She needed to tell someone how she felt but her mind was holding her back.

"It's something else isn't it?" Monika gives her a suspicious look.

Yuri couldn't keep lying like this. She had to say something. "I-"

The other two girls appeared from the woods in front of them.

"We're back!~" Sayori calls out.

Monika stands up. "Find anything interesting out there?"

"Sayori found a stick." Natsuki says, in monotone.

Sayori nods proudly as if accomplishing a big task.

Yuri stands up and clears her throat. "So... Anything planned for today Monika?"

Monika smirks back at her. "I'm glad you asked! Follow me young ones!"

Natsuki frowns. "Young ones...?"


	3. The Long Hike

The girls reluctantly get ready for a hike. Yuri looks around, she's not even ready, while Sayori and Monika willingly changed their clothes in front of the others, there was no way she was doing that.

"Uhh... Monika..." Yuri practically whispers but Monika hears her.

Monika turns her whole body towards Yuri in one motion. "Yes Yuri?"

"Is there uhm... Anywhere I could... Change?"

Monika looks around. "Why not in the tent?" She points at the empty one she would be sharing soon tonight.

"Erm..." Something about changing in a tent didn't sound too appealing.

Monika looks down for a second and takes a deep breathe. "Here, go over there behind those bushes, and be quick. I'm not telling the others that way you can feel more secure, I guess."

Yuri stares at the bushes, it's better than nothing. She let's out a quick "Thank you." To Monika before grabbing her clothes and heading off behind the bushes.

Natsuki approaches Monika. The tall girl takes a deep breathe. Expecting to have the same convo considering the pink girl is still in her normal clothes.

"Are we going?" She whines.

Monika looks at the small girl puzzled. "Erm... Not now, still waiting for Yuri."

Natsuki looks around. "Where is she?"

"Shes changing, she wanted some privacy, speaking of which you're uhm... Still in your clothes you wore on the way here?"

Natsuki scoffs. "I don't need to change, I was already in this outfit for an hour in a car with four stinky people! Plus, it's not like I care about this outfit anyway..."

"I uhh... Guess that makes?" Monika gives a weird smile.

Sayori suddenly jumps between them, eager to begin walking.

"Whoa calm down there." Monika says, softly chuckling.

"I don't know why you're so excited, it's just walking, except there's dirt and trees everywhere... And bugs!" Natsuki shivers at the thought.

"Well get used to bugs." Monika says while dusting herself off.

"What's wrong with bugs?" Sayori's head perks up.

"What's wrong with bugs!? They're just icky!" The small girl squeaks.

Sayori shakes her head. "They're so small though! So they can't possibly hurt us!"

Monika nods along.

"Ever heard of poison!??" Natsuki shrieks.

Yuri suddenly emerges from the bushes in a different outfit, yet still wearing long sleeves.

"Took you long enough." Natsuki says.

"Uhm... Sorry I kinda had trouble changing out here... Felt like I was being watched..."

"Out here? Most likely." Monika mirks.

Sayori squeaks again. "Let's go!" She starts hopping along before shortly realizing she had no idea which direction they were headed. "Wait which way were we-"

Monika points the opposite direction from where Sayori was going. "That way."

"Oh..."

~

A few miles of walking had proven difficult already. While Sayori and Monika seemed to be hopping along freely, Yuri and Natsuki were dragging their feet along the dirt, ruining their shoes.

"How long... Have we... Been walking?" Natsuki says, breathing heavily.

"Hmmm, 20 minutes!~" Monika's smile stays the same throughout the sentence.

Natsuki throws her head back and groans. Suddenly the tall girl pats her shoulder.

"Time will go by faster if you don't think about it..." Yuri says, out of breath aswell.

The small girl shrugs Yuri's hand off of her shoulder. "What is there to think about out here?" She says while kicking a branch.

Yuri shrugs while looking away.

Natsuki feels a little bad about throwing the tall girl's hand off of her shoulder, but she brushes it off, the painful walk was more of a bother than anything else and she wishes for anything exciting to happen before her legs explode.

Monika suddenly stops walking, and the other girls do so aswell. "Hmmm..."

Sayori's looks at Monika with curiosity. "What's up?"

"This way!" Monika takes a left off of the trail and into the woods.

The other girls stand there confused. Before Sayori happily follows along. "Wait for me!~"

Yuri and Natsuki share a glance before Yuri shrugs and follows the other two reluctantly. Natsuki rolls her eyes and follows aswell.

~

"Where are we going Monika?" Yuri asks from behind.

Monika pulls a sudden map from her pocket and tosses it behind her without looking.

Yuri shields her face and the map lands in front of her, she picks it up and scans it. "I didn't know this place had a map..."

"Well it's not like I just took you guys to some random forest and called it 'camping'!" The brunette chuckles.

"That sounds like something you'd do..." Natsuki mumbles from behind the others.

Monika looks down for a second. "Yeah, you're right."

"So how much further?" Natsuki asks.

Yuri stares at the map. "Erm..."

Natsuki snatches the map from her hand and glances over it. She then sighs.

"Better get your legs ready!" Monika teases.

"You'll make it!" Sayori calls out.

"Easy for you to say..." Natsuki pouts.

Yuri remains quiet and follows along the others, though she had the same annoyance as Natsuki right now. They soon approach a hill, Natsuki and Yuri pray that that's not where they're headed.

"Don't die yet guys!" Monika says to the others.

"Yet!?" Natsuki says.

Monika ignores her and they all proceed to walk up the hill. Natsuki's feet are already burning but she tries to hide it to look tough.

Yuri takes notice to Natsuki's weird expression. "You okay?"

"Yep!" She let's out with a painful squeal.

"You sure?" Yuri asks nervously.

Natsuki simply nods and Yuri decides not to ask any further. Even Monika and Sayori are breathing heavily.

"Okay so I _might've_ underestimated this hill..." Monika says, out of breathe.

"We can't back down now!" Sayori says.

"What if someone were to push you?" Natsuki says, actually considering it.

"You wouldn't do that! ...Right?" Sayori glances behind her to Natsuki.

"I wouldn't wait to find out if I were you." Monika says.

~

After quite some walking, they finally reach the cliff.

"Wow!" Sayori peaks over the cliff of a waterfall, close enough to the point where she'd fall with one wrong move.

The purple haired girl seemed to be the only one who noticed. "S- Sayori be careful..." Sayori doesn't respond.

Monika however, takes notice, she walks over to Sayori, but instead of warning her, she simply sits with her feet dangling off the edge. And Sayori does the same.

"Are you guys crazy!?" Natsuki yells.

"What? Don't be so scared Natsuki!" Monika teases.

"What? I'm not! I just don't feel like dying today!"

"Sureee." Monika says sarcastically.

"The view is amazing! Come on guys!" Sayori beams at the other two and Monika gestures them to come over.

Natsuki doesn't budge but Yuri slowly walks over and takes a seat next to Sayori.

"I- I'm good over here!" Natsuki calls out, annoyed that Yuri of all people could out do her.

"Are you sure about that?" Monika says.

Natsuki grunts and walks over to Yuri and sits down with her arms crossed and her head up.

"Aren't you... Gonna look down?" Sayori says.

"Pshh..." Natsuki almost looks down but immidieatley her head forces itself up again.

Monika chuckles. "The view is the best part, you wimp!"

"Hey! I'm not a-" she suddenly looks down and finds her self scooting away from the edge. "JESUS!"

"Yuri giggles. That's a bit of an over reaction..." She mumbles.

"Sh- Shut up!"

"Need someone to hold your hand or something?" Monika teases once again.

"That would be nice- I mean no!" The small girl marches over to the edge again and sits down. She gulps. "How long do we plan on being here!?"

"All night maybe..." Monika smirks.

"Group cuddle!" Sayori shouts before wrapping her arm around Yuri and Monika.

Yuri feels a little uncomfortable but lets Sayori do it anyways.

The four teens sit in silence admiring the view. Monika feels a little comfort, apart from being two seconds away from death, something about the current spot she's in brings warmth to her heart, something she hasn't felt in a while.

~

After a little while, they decide to head back, as it's starting to get dark outside. The four girls stick close to eachother on their way back, making sure not to get lost because of how dark it is and the fact that no one brought a flashlight.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Natsuki says.

"The map says it is..." Monika waves the map in the air.

Sayori coughs. "Make sure it isn't upside down, I accidentally read a book once not realizing it was upside down-"

"Of course you did." The pink hair girl scoffs.

Monika stops in her tracks. "Where's Yuri?"

The other two look around.

"Yuri?" Sayori calls out. There's no response.

"She was right next to me!" Natsuki says.

Monika takes a deep breath. "Remain calm..."

"What are we gonna do!?" Sayori sqeuals.

"Guys I'm right here..." Yuri emerges from behind them.

"GHOST!" Sayori wacks Yuri with a nearby branch, causing the big girl to collapse over holding her face. Natsuki stares at Sayori who just awkwardly laughs it off.

"Are you okay?" Monika asks, helping her back up.

"Yeah..."

"Sorry!" Sayori hugs Yuri.

"Ah-"

" _Try_ to stay with us, I sorta kinda freaked out with you dissapearing like that." Natsuki says.

"Eh... Sorry... I thought I heard a noise behind us and when I guess I was looking back longer than I th- Thought becuase you all were gone..." Yuri explains.

"You... Heard something behind you?" Natsuki asks nervously.

"The wolves!" Sayori shouts.

Monika chuckles. "Sayori there's no w-"

"I knew it!" Natsuki points at Monika. "You brought us here to get eaten by wolves!"

"What? No that's not... It was probably just the wind!" Monika says.

"Guys, let's not make a big deal out of this..." Yuri says.

"This is how horror movies happen..." Natsuki says, while looking around the others.

Soon they start walking back to their camp, Natsuki nervous about the earlier event.

~

After finally reaching the camp, Monika and Natsuki start a fire and they all sit around it.

"What now?" Sayori says while shoving a smore in her face.

Monika puts her hand on her chin. "Hmmm... Ghost stories?"

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "How clichè Monika."

Sayori tosses a marshmellow at Natsuki. "For a girl who acts tough, you sure are scared of a lot of things!"

"Hey! I'm not scared _th_ _is_ time, telling ghost stories is childish!" Natsuki crosses her arms.

"You're one to talk..." Yuri mumbles, she quickly covers her mouth when she notices Natsuki's death stare. "Uhm... Sorry..." She slowly backs away from the teen with burning eyes.

Monika snorts. "You're not sorry..."

"Fine, whatever, tell your stupid stories." Natsuki says.

"Alright." Monika clears her throat. "This is-"

"I HAVE A STORY!" Sayori shouts.

"Erm... Sayori I was kinda..."

"Please Monika?" Sayori begs.

Monika sighs. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Thanks!~" Sayori repositions herself as if getting ready for a speech. "Ahem... Once there was... Uhh..."

The other girls stare blankly.

"Uhm... I forgot..."

"Great start!" Natsuki shouts.

"Sorry..." Sayori shrinks down.

"It's okay." Monika shows her a smile, "Anyways, as I was saying... Well... You guys might not like it... The ending is-"

"Just get on with it already!" Natsuki says.

"Okay, if you insist!" Monika smirks.

They all sit around curious to what the story has to offer.


	4. Say Goodnight

" **Once there was a group of teens-** "

"Of course it's a group of teens!" Natsuki interrupts.

"Will you let me-" Monika's eyes shoot towards Natsuki.

"Fine, continue." Natsuki says with a smirk.

"Ahem... **Once there was a group of teens who came across-** "

"I REMEMBER!" Sayori shouts.

The other girls stare at her in confusion.

"...Nevermind, I forgot again..." She looks down in dissapointment.

"You guys are killing the mood." Monika says, with a mix of sadness and anger.

"Please continue, Monika." Yuri says politely.

"Thank you, Yuri. _As_ I was saying... **There once was a group of teens who came across a cave, it was their only-** " Monika looks up and notices Yuri yawning. "I'm boring you already? The story just started!"

Yuri jumps. "Ah! Sorry! It's not you! I'm just really tired..." Yuri looks down embarrased.

"Tired of listening to your story..." Natsuki mumbles, chuckling to herself.

"Alright you know what, story time is over." Monika gets up.

"No wait!" Sayori says while jumping at Monika's legs.

"What the-"

"We're sorry, we'll listen this time! Right guys?" Sayori looks at the other two.

Yuri nods and Natsuki shrugs.

"Promise?" Monika's eyes light up.

"Promise!' Sayori says, while continuing to hug her leg.

Monika sits down and clears her throat. " **Once th-** " Suddenly the fire that was between the four girls, cuts out.

"Man the universe really doesn't want you to tell this story." Natsuki says.

The four girls depart from the burned out fire, and the failed ghost stories.

As Monika is getting prepared to sleep she see's Natsuki walking towards her in an awkward manner.

"Hey Monika... Don't make this weird or anything..." Natsuki says.

Monika raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Sorry if I seemed a bit... Grumpy today, okay? It's been a long day..." She looks away, clearly embarrased.

"Aww, it's okay! We all had a long day! I'm sure we'll all be better tomorrow." Monika says confidentially.

Natsuki weakly nods and heads towards the tent to grab her PJ's, Monika wonders if there was something else that was bothering her, she seemed different from her usual sour self. Then again, they're all hiding something from eachother, Monika thinks more on the subject. " _Should I find a way to convince them to spill it out on each other?_ " She shakes her head. " _No... That would be wrong..._ "

"Monika! You coming or what?" Sayori calls out, causing Monika to jump a little.

"Oh right! Sorry, I sorta spaced out a little..." Monika chuckles nervously, and takes a deep breathe to clear her mind.

The four girls get ready to sleep in their tents. They switch from their dirty clothes into sleepwear and get ready for a night's rest, except Sayori who's still in her dirty clothes and is sitting with a bunch of branches and sticks.

Monika slowly approaches her. "Whatcha' doing there Sayori?" She says with a friendly smile.

"I'm not tired..." She pokes the dirt with one of the sticks. "So I need to entertain myself.

"Something wrong?" Monika asks.

"I wanna do something!" Sayori says.

Monika gives a puzzled expression. "What?"

"I... I don't know, I don't feel like sleeping." Sayori pouts and continues fidgiting with the sticks.

Monika pats the sitting girl on the back. "Will you at least try? We'll be back to exploring and all that tomorrow, okay?"

Sayori sighs and stands up. "I'll grab my PJ's..."

"Right here!"

"Wha-" Clothes suddenly hit Sayori in the face. "H- Hey!" Sayori looks around and see's Monika happily skipping away to the tent.

Meanwhile, Yuri stares at her tent, Natsuki is already in it and her anxiety is holding her back from entering it with her.

"What's up Yuri?" Monika shouts from the other tent.

"Ah-" Yuri jumps. " _How many times is that gonna happen?_ " Yuri sighs. "I'm... Okay... Just... Nevermind." She has no choice now. She slowly enters the tent, to see Natsuki sitting upright with a book over her head, she doesn't say hi, probably unaware of Yuri's presence. Either way, Yuri awkwardly lays next to the other girl, who still doesn't seem to notice. Yuri lays her head away from Natsuki and closes her eyes in hopes for the night to end, however her mind doesn't let her rest easy.

"Yuri?" Natsuki's pokes the tall girl nervously.

Yuri takes a deep breath and turns towards Natsuki. "Y- Yes?"

"Ya know... Not that I want it to be _you_ out of all people. But... I kinda have never... Like ever... Cuddled anyone before..." Natsuki's face turns reds. "So..."

"Me- Me neither..." Yuri says.

There is a moment of silence before Natsuki speaks again. "Well... Goodnight Yuri..." She quickly turns her back to the other girl and lays there with her head under the blankets.

Yuri gets an uneasy feeling, she feels tired but can't find the effort to sleep. "Natsuki?" Yuri asks. Natsuki turns towards her faster than she was expecting which startles her.

"Yes?" She responds.

"I... Wouldn't mind if you wanted to... With me..." Yuri feels her stomache hurt. " _Why did I say that?_ " Yuri scratches her arm awkwardly. "Erm... Sor-" Suddenly she feels the tiny girl's arms wrap around her. "Oh-"

"Don't tell _anyone_ about this or else I'll kick your shins." Natsuki mumbles.

"I... Won't..." Yuri wraps her arms around Natsuki aswell, though anxiety hangs around her, cuddling actually feels kinda nice, causing her eyes to slowly start to close.

"You two are so cute!" Sayori yells from the other tent.

"Yeah we can hear everything." Monika yells aswell.

"End me..." Natsuki says in monotone.

"Not today!" Monika says back.

"Wait what-"

"Night!" Monika says, happily.

Sayori lay still awake, cuddling Monika should've made her feel tired, but she still felt dead awake. She didn't want to move because it might wake Monika. So instead she just laid still and let her mind run wild with thoughts, as it usually does when she's alone. The peaceful silence makes it easy to- "SPIDER!"

"What the?" Monika rubs her eyes.

"RUN!" Sayori leaps out of the tent, leaving Monika alone with the creature.

Natsuki opens her tent to see the strange site. "Sayori what the _hell_ "

"Killed it!" Monika yells from the tent. "Nice survival insticts Sayori." Monika laughs.

"Why did it have to be spiders?" Sayori pouts.

Yuri's head peaks from behind Natsuki's. "What happened?

"Just a little spider." Monika says, while returning to her sleeping spot.

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "There goes my peaceful rest..." She grumbles.

"Uhm... Night Sayori..." Yuri waves before returning to her sleep.

Sayori slithers back into the tent with Monika, who weakly lifts her arms up for Sayori to place herself. Soon after she hears Monika fall asleep again, she let's her mind return to the peaceful state it was before, it's almost like the last few moments didn't happen, she took the moment in, she knew it wouldn't last forever but- "SPIDER!" She shouts again.

Natsuki groans. "God dammit..."

After a little while, the four girls finally all fall asleep, after a long day. Things start to look up for them, maybe the next few days won't be so bad afterall...


	5. Just Another Morning

Yuri awakes to notice that the small girl that was next to her is gone now. She soon grabs a coat and exists the tent and is immediately hit with cold breeze. She see's the other three girls and walks slowly towards them, shivering.

Sayori is the first to take notice. "Hi Yuri!"

"H- Hi..." Yuri responds, still shivering.

"Come sit with us, we have a fire!" Sayori says, patting a nearby log.

Yuri weakly smiles and practically rushes towards the fire to get warm, taking a seat next to Sayori.

There is a moment of silence before Monika says something. "Cuddle for warmth!"

"Huh-" Natsuki is suddenly crushed between Sayori and Monika hugging her, along with Yuri hugging Sayori.

"Ack! Get off... Me!" Natsuki struggles.

"Oh just admit it, you like it!" Monika says, hugging Natsuki tighter.

"I like _breathing_!" Natsuki yelps. She soon gives up as Sayori and Monika have a death grip on her.

"Isn't this better?" Monika smirks.

Natsuki smiles a little. "Yeah kinda..."

"Aww, so cute!" Sayori squeaks.

"Shut up..." Natsuki grumbles.

"Maybe we should sing a song!" Monika says, cheerfully.

"YES" Sayori squeaks.

"No" Natsuki glares at Sayori.

"Uhm... I'm with Natsuki on this one." Yuri says in her usual quiet tone.

"Meh, I don't have any songs anyways." Monika says. "Speaking of which..." Monika suddenly stands up and faces towards the other girls. "We shall write poems about how the forest makes us feel!"

"Write... Poems? I thought we came here to get _away_ from the school stuff!" Natsuki says.

"Oh trust me that's exactly what I hope to do." Monika nods to herself. "Anyways, when we get home I want all three of you to write a poem and how you felt about this trip!"

"Okay!" Sayori says with enthusiasm.

"Wouldn't be so bad." Yuri shrugs.

"I guess..." Natsuki says, quietly.

"Then it's settled!" Monika hops back to Natsuki, who retreats to avoid being crushed again.

~

Sayori lays on the grass and stares at the sky, letting her mind wander once more.

"You're gonna ruin your clothes..." Natsuki says, approaching her. "You don't care about dirt or something? Or bugs!?"

"Yeah I know... But I'm bored to death." Sayori pouts.

"Do you need something to do?" Natsuki asks.

Sayori nods.

"Do you wanna ask Monika what we're doing today?"

Sayori nods again.

"... Do you wanna get off the grass?"

Sayori shakes her head.

Monika takes notice of the weird site and walks over. "What's uhh... What's going on _here_?" She stands next to Natsuki.

"I'm bored." Sayori says.

"Hmmm..." Monika walks away.

"Wha- Monika" Natsuki shouts. She glances back towards Sayori. "That was strange-"

Suddenly a box of cookies hit Sayori in the stomach. She immediately shoots up and looks around, to see Monika waving.

"Nice shot!" Sayori says while proceeding to rip open the box.

"People always seem to throw cookies at you." Natsuki says while walking away.

"And rightfully so!" Sayori says, with her mouth full.

~

"What are you up to?"

Yuri looks up to see Natsuki in front of her. "Oh... Hey Natsuki... I'm just reading a book." She awkwardly points to the cover.

Natsuki sits next to her and starts whispering. "Let's cut to the chase and not make this awkward."

"What?"

"Last night, me and you cuddled alright?"

"... Yeah?" Yuri looks at Natsuki, puzzled.

"So we can both admit we would... Do it again if given the chance?" Natsuki asks.

"What!?" Yuri shouts. "I mean... Sorry... What are you talking about Natsuki?"

"Admit it!" Natsuki stands up and points at Yuri. "If given the chance, you would _so_ cuddle me again!"

"No! I will _not_ admit it!"

"Ah ha! You admit by saying you won't admit it!"

"Fine! Maybe I would, okay!?" Yuri stands up and marches away.

"I knew it! Your lies are easier to see through than a-" Natsuki turns around and see's Monika and Sayori staring at her with confused expressions.

"That was dramatic." Monika says.

~

"And with the fire came a Goddess! One worthy enough to save the kingdom!" Sayori looks around. "Ahem... That's your queue Natsuki!" She whispers.

"I'm not doing this." Natsuki crosses her arms.

"Pleeeeease?" Sayori begs.

Natsuki sighs and puts on a crown made of sticks. "And her name is- Yeah no." Natsuki tosses the crown to the ground and walks away.

"Natsuki!" Sayori looks over to Yuri and Monika, who are sitting and watching her.

"The show must go on!" Sayori does a majestic pose.

"Must it really though?" Monika asks.

"You guys are no fun..." Sayori says, while walking away sadly.

~

The four girls sit around the fire once more.

"So, what do you have planned this time Monika?" Yuri asks.

"Well it's starting to get hot again out here, the weather is unpredictable around here. So... How about we go to the lake?" Monika suggest.

"Meh, sure why not." Natsuki shrugs.

"Bring shorts or else you'll just be standing there while the rest of us go into the water." Monika explains.

"A squirt gun would've been useful now." Natsuki says outloud.

"No time to waste, come on guys!" Monika says.

And thus the story continues.


	6. What Would You Do?

"These shorts are super uncomfortable..." Sayori starts playing with the shorts in attempt to make them less tight. She then trips and falls on her ass "Dammit! I think I grabbed the wrong pair!"

"Need help?" Yuri stands over her. Sayori lifts her hands up and Yuri pulls her up. "What happened?"

"These _things_ are trying to squeeze my insides!" Sayori says, with an exaggerated expression.

Natsuki appears behind them, most likely hearing the whole thing. "You can borrow mine." Natsuki says, waving a pair in the air.

"Are you sure they would fit her?" Yuri asks.

Natsuki's eyes shoot through Yuri's head. " _What?_ "

Yuri looks down in embarrasment. "Sorry! I- I didn't mean..."

"Alright! Alright! I forgive you! Jeez..." Natsuki says.

"S- Sorry..." Yuri mumbles.

"Wait a second... Sayori!" Natsuki shouts.

"Ah!"

"Those are _my_ shorts!" Natsuki points at the mentioned clothing.

"Wait really?"

"Yes!"

" _That's_ why they didn't fit!" Sayori says, shockingly.

"Yeah, ya think!? Take them off before you stretch them! Or rip them!" Natsuki says.

Sayori begins to take them off frantically.

"Stop!" Natsuki says quickly looking away. "Not in front of us! Do it in private so we don't have to look at _that!_ " But it's too late, as Sayori is exposed in her underwear.

Monika then walks over. "Hey wh-"

Sayori nervously laughs.

"Do I wanna know?" Monika looks at Yuri and Natsuki.

"Probably..." Yuri says, while looking down.

~

The four teens soon walk and are headed to the near lake, after about an hour of walking through branches, going up hills, Natsuki trying to act tough and Sayori asking for food. They reach a big open area with a waterfall.

"Whoa!" Monika examines the beauty of the area.

"Shouldn't we have brought swimsuits or something?" Natsuki asks.

"The water is two feet." Monika says.

"Are you sure?"

Monika puts down all her stuff and sets foot in the cold water. "See?"

Sayori gets in with her. "Wow! This is freezing cold!"

Natsuki joins them. The water just barely touches her thighs, due to her height.

Yuri walks in aswell. "This feels nice actually."

"Inde-" Sayori suddenly trips and falls directly into the water.

Monika rushes over to help. "You okay-" She is suddenly pulled down by Sayori, who gets out of the water laughing. Monika laughs along aswell. "Careful Sayori!"

"You guys are soaking now!" Natsuki says.

"So are you." Monika says.

"Wha-" Natsuki is suddenly splashed in the face. "Not cool!" She kicks the water at Monika, which hits Yuri in the process.

"My... My shirt..." Yuri looks down.

"Erm... Sorry!" Natsuki says, embarrased.

Yuri looks down, she feels a strange emotion. The other girls stop to make sure shes okay.

"You okay? Sorry we kinda got out of hand..." Monika says, worriedly.

Yuri doesn't know what, or how. But her hands find themselves splashing back at Natsuki.

Natsuki looks at her in shock. "Did... Did you just splash me!?"

Yuri lets out a laugh. Something feels right. As if she was born to splash her friends with water. As she proceeds to splash Monika and Sayori while chuckling.

"So it's like that huh?" Sayori suddenly splashes back and the other girls retreat. "Ah ha!"

"Stop it!" Natsuki says, while trying to throw water back at Sayori.

The girls soon find themselves splashing water at eachother, and sometimes falling in. As if forgetting about all the problems they deal with at home, and not giving a single care for the world. After a little while, Monika gets out of the water and lays down on the ground, laughing. The other follow and lay next to eachother. No one says anything but they're all thinking about how fun it was just to simply splash each other. Yuri stops to think to herself on how she was able to overcome her anxiety and just go with the flow, how she didn't feel like she was dissapointing the others for once. She felt... Comfortable... They all lay in silence, not thinking about time or anything. But soon Monika realizes how late it's getting and gets up before it gets _too_ dark.

"Come on guys." Monika says softly.

~

They walk back together still soaking wet and soon reach their camp. Monika starts a fire and the girls huddle close for warmth.

"Can't believe you actually splashed me!" Natsuki says towards Yuri.

"Ah... I... I don't know what came over me... I'm really sorry..." Yuri feels the anxiety coming back.

"What? Don't be sorry! I thought it was pretty cool!" Natsuki exclaims.

"R- Really?" Yuri's heart lights up a bit.

"Of course!" Natsuki says.

Yuri feels herself relax again

"Yeah, it was pretty cool, I was worried for a sec!" Monika says.

"You should show that side of you more often." Sayori suggest. "I like it."

Yuri smiles. "Th- Thank you guys..."

"What does our leader have planned for tonight?" Natsuki asks.

"Tonight?" Monika lets out a slight chuckle. "Tonight we shall sleep early!" Monika slowly scoots towards the tent.

"You're tired aren't you?" Natsuki says.

"Very."

"Nice try, but as Vice President I will not allow that!" Sayori grabs Monika's arm and pulls her back.

Monika makes a slight 'hmm' noise.

Yuri chuckles. "I didn't think it was possible to see you this tired before, Monika."

"My body has given up or something today." Monika shrugs.

"What are we supposed to do without our club President for tonight?" Natsuki asks. "Come on, we have the whole night to do whatever we want!"

Monika looks down and thinks for a moment. "Anything in the world?" Monika smirks again.

"Hey I don't like that smile." Sayori says.

"Great idea!" Monika says with sudden force. "Natsuki!"

"Huh?"

"Right now, if you could do anything in the world, what would you do?" Monika asks.

"Me? Oh I'd get rid of my dumb dad and be like... Super rich, maybe even find that 'one' special person in my life." Natsuki says. "Wait why did I say that so willingly?"

Monika shrugs. "Sayori! Now you! What you do if you could do anything?"

"Save all the animals!" She squeaks.

Monika giggles. "That's very sw-"

"And eat all the food."

"I thought that would be your first choice." Natsuki says.

"What about you Yuri?" Monika asks.

"Me? Oh... I'd give it to someone who deserves that kind of power. I wouldn't be worth the effort."

Natsuki scoffs. "That's such a lame answer."

Yuri looks down. "Maybe..."

"What about _you_ Monika?" Sayori asks.

"Oh, I'd be responsible with my power."

"Wow, I didn't think an answer could be more lame than Yuri's" Natsuki says.

"Hey..." Yuri mumbles.

"Well sometimes the best answers aren't always the coolest." Monika explains.

"Hmph."


	7. Yuri's Book

"It's funny because everyone always treats manga as a joke or that it's not meant for adults but actually from what I've come to see is that manga appeals to adults more than anything, ya know?"

"Yeah..."

"It's like they always say, 'don't judge a book by it's cover', but when it comes down to it that's immediately what people do when they see a book."

"Uh huh..."

"Don't even get me started on manga, a lot of my so called 'friends' call me 'immature' or 'cute' when the see me reading manga."

"That's awful..."

"I know right? It's the reason I have to hide it in the clubroom, plus I know _you_ would never make fun of me, right Yuri?"

"Uhm... Yeah... So... _Have_ you seen my book?" Yuri asks.

"Huh? No, sorry." Natsuki responds.

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know." Yuri says.

"Then why'd you ask about my manga?"

"I... I didn't..." Yuri says.

"...Go away!" Natsuki squeaks, causing Yuri to jump back and awkwardly walk away.

~

"Hey Sayori... H- Have you seen my book?" Yuri asks.

"Huh?" Sayori looks behind her to see the tall girl standing over her. "Oh, no! Sorry!" She says, while continuing to go back to her activity.

"It's okay..." Yuri turns her back before looking back towards the squatting girl. "What are you doing? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Leaving a time capsule!" Sayori says.

"Oh really? That's actually kinda cool." Yuri peeks over Sayori's shoulders to see. "Isn't that Natsuki's bag?"

"She won't even notice..." Sayori says, half believing herself.

"Ahem... So what... What are you leaving?" Yuri asks.

"A candy bar, a shirt, this stick, some money, and... This container that has my sunglasses!"

"It's your choice I guess..." Yuri gets ready to leave Sayori alone.

"Wait!" She squeaks.

"Huh?"

"Help me bury this. Please?" Sayori says, with puppy eyes.

"Erm..." She wanted to find her book, but she couldn't say no. "Actually Sayori I..."

"Yes?" Sayori's eyes grow bigger.

"...Sure..."

"Yay!" Sayori hops up and grabs Yuri's hand and pulls her.

"Ah..."

They both soon start covering the hole as neatly as possible to make it look unnoticeable, and after they finish, Monika appears behind them.

"What's going on here?" Monika asks.

"Oh, Sayori wanted to-"

"WE'RE LOOKING FOR WORMS!" Sayori shouts.

Yuri gives Sayori a puzzled expression.

"Oh... Okay... Have fun you two! At least you're bonding!" Monika slowly walks away.

Yuri looks back at Sayori who awkwardly smiles back. "What... What was that all about?"

"Okay so... Monika _might've_ told me not to do this..." Sayori giggles nervously.

"Uhm... I'm just gonna go..." Yuri slowly gets up.

"PLEASE DON'T TELL HER!" Sayori yelps.

"I won't! I won't..." Yuri responds.

"Alright, thank you! You're the best Yuri!~" Sayori says.

Yuri walks away, trying to get the weird experience out of her head.

~

Yuri finds the club President and slowly approaches her. "Hey Mon-"

"Your book?" Monika interrupts.

"Y- Yeah... How did you know?"

"Because it's right here." Monika lifts it from the log.

"Huh? Why... Why did you have it?"

"I'm responsible for knowing the kinds of books my members read. You have _n_ _o_ idea the amounts of manga I've read. Sayori's books are my favorite, they're usually light hearted and sweet. Erm... No offense to you..." Monika explains.

"Uhm... None taken... Sorry but I... Would've preffered if you asked first..." Yuri says, trying not to sound aggressive.

"Oh, sorry I thought you weren't reading it, so I... Yeah, it won't happen again." Monika gives her a warming smile.

"Thanks..." Yuri takes a deep breathe. She couldn't imagine losing this book.

Suddenly theres a slurping sound behind them.

"Huh?"

They turn around to see Natsuki, and sure enough she's drinking a juice box.

"Glad I got your attention!" She smirks, while tossing the container.

"That's littering" Monika says.

"Not like there's garbage out here." Natsuki clears her throat. "I think it's time we head to bed." She suggest.

Monika scoffs. "Oh so _now_ you're tired? Nice try but now you have to go through what I had to earlier and stay up a little longer!"

"Actually I'm getting tired too." Yuri says.

"..." Monika thinks for a moment. "Find Sayori-"

"Right here!" Sayori pokes her head up from the bushes and hops towards the others.

"Well if you're all _really_ tired then... We can finally sleep." Monika says.

"Yes ma'am!" Sayori says, with enthusiasm.

The group hug eachother and head in for the night, ready for their last day tomorrow, before the trip ends.


	8. The Start of The End

**Author's Notes.**

 **Took me this long to notice but apparently when I publish a chapter, the way I use to divide sections of the story automatically gets deleted, which I was not aware of, so sorry for any of the previous chapters where the transitions don't make sense. I had no idea this was a thing and I apologize. However this _is_ my first story, and it's better to learn this way then not at all.**

Monika awakes, she notices Sayori isn't laying next to her, she must've gotten up early again. Monika ceases the moment though, she finally has room to herself. Cuddling someone is great and all, but when that someone takes up more than half the space, you kinda appreciate your space. However this isn't the case for Yuri. Who wakes up to Natsuki awkwardly close to her. Should she move and possibly wake up the sleeping girl? Or lay there until she wakes up aswell? Yuri decides to stay, she can't possibly wake up the other girl. She feels trapped and no room to escape the hold of the tiny girl. Yuri takes a deep breathe.

"I'm gonna be here for a while..." She mumbles.

"Huh?"

Yuri jumps, she wasn't expecting Natsuki to be awake. "Oh! Sorry... I- I thought you were still asleep..."

"It's okay, I'm... Actually really comfortable..." Natsuki says. "You can leave though if you want... Im just gonna stay here a little longer."

Yuri doesn't say anything. Usually she would've got out as fast as she could, but her body refuses to move.

Suddenly the tent opens and Sayori's head appears. "I _thought_ I heard voices! Hey guys! Want some smores?"

"No thanks." Yuri says.

"I'm good." Natsuki says aswell.

"More for me then!" Sayori vanishes.

Yuri suddenly finds the energy and exits the tent. "Uhm... See ya Natsuki." She doesn't wait for a response as she quickly leaves the tent.

"Hey Yuri." A warm voice says next to her.

Yuri jumps again. "H- Hi Monika..."

"Jeez, you're jumpy, need some coffee or something?" Monika chuckles.

"Erm... Sorry I... Get caught up in my own world from time to time..."

"We all do, don't worry." Monika pats Yuri on the back, and then glances over to Sayori. "At least one of us is fully awake!"

Sayori glances over and waves.

Monika smiles and waves back, as does Yuri.

Natsuki suddenly exits her tent and yawns. "Hi..." She grumbles.

"Grumpy again?" Monika asks.

Natsuki grumbles again, though this time, no actual words come out.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Sayori waves to Natsuki.

Natsuki mumbles something and sits down on a log.

"Aren't you freezing?" Monika asks. "Where's your coat?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid, I can handle myself!" Natsuki says.

"Okay, but don't freeze to death." Monika responds.

The four girls soon gather and start a fire.

"Hmmm... Ya know what?" Sayori asks.

"What is it?" Monika says.

"We need to leave a mark around this area! Tell people that team SYMN was here!" Sayori stands up proudly.

Natsuki gives a puzzled expression. "What, you mean? Like, carve our names into a rock or something?"

"No no no!" Sayori shakes her head rapidly. "Something meaningful or impactful like... Like... I don't know..." She shrinks down.

"I wouldn't know where to begin, Sayori." Monika says. "Not like we could just blow up a mountain and have it spell out 'SYMN' or something."

Yuri clears her throat. "Well, technically you already left something, Sayori." She gestures towards where Sayori buried the time capsule.

Sayori's eye twitches.

"What does she mean by that?" Monika looks at Sayori.

"N- nothing! She just meant I lost a shirt over there... Or something." Sayori lets out a fake cough.

Monika see's past the lie but chooses not to pressure her. "So... Leave a mark you say?"

"Ah forget it." Sayori says. "It was a dumb idea anyway..."

"I actually liked it." Natsuki says. "You probably should've thought of a plan first before sharing it though." She giggles.

Sayori pouts. "Hmph."

Monika stands up and stretches. "Come on guys!"

"Where are we going?" Sayori asks.

Monika points up at a mountain. "Up!" She chirps.

"Great, more walking..." Natsuki mumbles.

"Yep!" Monika squeaks. "We're headed for the top so prepare your legs."

"This is a good work out, I guess." Natsuki says.

"Whoa, are you seeing the good side of things for once?" Monika asks, sarcastically.

The girls start getting ready for the long hike, trying to dress as lightly as they can, while also trying to carry as much as they need.

Monika looks around the other girls and finds a spot to sit. She let's her mind wander again, many things go through her mind, many regrets, many great memories.

"Wake up princess Monika." Natsuki says, while tapping her on the forehead.

"Huh?" Monika's eyes must've been closed. "Sorry, I sorta spaced out. She stands up straight.

"Meh, Yuri does it all the time, ain't _that_ weird." Natsuki hops away and Monika follows.

The four teens meet in a circle.

"Ready, ladies?" Monika asks.

"After you, Monika." Natsuki nods.

"You know the drill, follow me!" Monika marches along a path and the other teens follow.

"I don't want this day to end." Sayori says.

"All great things must come to an end." Yuri says.

"Well can this great thing be the thing that never ends?" Sayori asks.

"I... Don't think so...?" Yuri responds.

"This is the best thing I've had in these past years. I wish I could be with you guys forever!" Sayori explains.

"Me too." Monika says.

"Me three." Yuri says aswell.

The three girls look at Natsuki, who blushes.

"Okay so I might be enjoying myself here, so what?" She turns away to find a distraction.

"Awww, you _do_ like us." Monika teases.

"Sh- shut up!"

"You guys are my best friends." Sayori gives a warm smile. "Oh, and don't tell MC I said that."

"MC?" Natsuki raises an eyebrow.

"Who's that?" Monika asks, intrigued.

"He's my childhood friend, he goes by MC now though, doesn't like his real name." Sayori explains.

"What's his real name?" Natsuki asks.

"I can't say!" Sayori zips her mouth.

"Uhm... Alright, what does 'MC' stand for?" Yuri asks.

"Mega cutie." Sayori blushes and smiles.

"Why didn't you invite him with us? It would've been nice to know your friend." Monika says.

"I doubt it. He won't even join the club!" Sayori's smile suddenly fades. "Even tricking Natsuki into making cupcakes didn't work!"

"H- hey! I'm _right_ here!" Natsuki says.

"Sorry..." Sayori says.

"Hmph!"

"Is he cute?" Monika asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Sayori chirps.

"Handsome?"

"Very."

"Available?"

"Ye- Monika!" Sayori screeches.

Monika giggles. "Worth a shot."

"And the shot missed." Yuri says, chuckling to herself.

The girls continue walking together, the easy part is almost over, and they're soon about to reach the mountain.


	9. Top of a Mountain

The four teen girls approach the large mountain. They can already see the trail that leads to the very top.

Natsuki can feel her feet ache already. "So this is it, huh?"

"Yup!" Monika squeaks. "It's easier than it looks."

"Easy for _you_ to say!" Natsuki responds.

"Stop being a baby." Monika teases, again.

"What are waiting for?" Sayori skips ahead and waits for the others to follow.

Yuri clears her mind, and prepares herself, as if doing the greatest thing she's ever done it her life. If there was gonna be any time where she or her friends got hurt, it would be today.

"Only one of many hills to go!" Monika yells so the others could hear.

"Great!" Natsuki yells back.

"It is, isn't it?" Sayori responds. "I wonder if you can see our camp from up here!?"

"Maybe a little higher, careful though." Monika says.

"This isn't so bad." Yuri says, confidently.

"Yet!" Monika smirks.

"Pass some water!" Natsuki yells. A water bottle suddenly hits her in the face and she almost loses her balance before landing straight into Yuri who catches her.

"Ah-"

Monika giggles.

"You were aiming for my face, weren't you!?" Natsuki makes a fist.

"If I missed, then you wouldn't have the water at all!"

"She has a point." Yuri says.

"Yeah but my face..." Natsuki pouts.

The girls continue walking higher and higher, the hill getting steeper with each step.

Natsuki trips. "Ow... I'm okay!"

Yuri offers her hand and Natsuki grabs without hesitation.

"Thanks." Natsuki says, while dusting herself off.

"Be careful, please..." Yuri says, worryingly.

"Yeah yeah. Don't need to tell me." Natsuki says.

"Sorry..." Yuri looks down.

"It's fine..."

"Come on you two, walk a little faster!" Monika gestures them to hurry up.

The girls continue up the trail getting closer to the top, the air getting colder as they do so.

After what feels like an hour, they finally reach the end of the trail.

"Look! we're almost there!" Sayori squeaks.

"Finally!" Natsuki throws her head back.

Sayori rushes up the hill and stands over the edge, breathing heavily.

Monika walks behind her. "You can see the whole forest from up here!" She stretches.

Natsuki soon appear behind the other two.

"I'm gonna be sick..." Natsuki say, while looking down.

Yuri nervously looks over the edge. Something about the dangerous view is appealing to her. "This is... It's a very pretty view."

"Don't stand so close to it!" Natsuki squeaks.

"Oh please, what's so scary- WHOA!" Monika pretends to fall off, causing Natsuki's heart to stop.

"Th- Tha- That's not funny!" Natsuki says, like a broken record.

Monika burst out in laughter.

"Oh! Idea!" Sayori squeaks to the others.

"Hmmm?" Yuri raises an eyebrow.

" _This_ is where we make mark!" She stands up tall.

"But how?" Monika asks, while looking around.

Sayori walks up to a boulder and pulls out a spray can.

"You brought that up here?" Natsuki asks.

Sayori then proceeds to paint the words 'Team SYMN' on the giant rock. "Now we live here forever!" Sayori puts her fist on her hips and smiles.

"So we came up here, now we go back down?" Natsuki looks at Monika.

"Yep!" She smiles.

"That... Seems a little pointless." Natsuki scratches her head.

"Think of it like this." Monika proceeds to put a hand on Natsuki's shoulder. "We walked up a giant freaking mountain!"

"Yeah...?"

"Ah whatever." Monika throws her hands in the air.

Sayori takes out her phone. "I wish there was someone here to take a picture of all four of us!" She pouts.

"Should've brought your boyfriend then!" Monika snorts.

Sayori's eyes shoot towards Monika. "We're not dating!" She whines.

"Do you have a timer option of some sort?" Yuri asks.

"Yeah but trying to find a spot to put my phone will be obnoxious!"

"I brought this for a reason." Monika pulls out a selfie stick.

"You... Bought one of those?" Natsuki points at the selfie stick.

"What's wrong about that?" Monika says.

"Nothing I guess." Natsuki shrugs.

"Group selfie time!" Monika bounces in enjoyment.

Sayori struggles and sets the phone on the stick.

Monika counts down. "1, 2, 3!"

The four teens pose and the picture gets taken.

"Looks good!" Monika says.

Yuri nods.

"I will keep this photo forever!" Sayori says, while hugging her phone.

"Well... There isn't much left for us up here. Let's go girls!" Monika says.

They all head back down the long trail hey had just walked up, and the walk down feels much faster than the walk up.

"So we head home after this?" Natsuki asks.

"Yeah..." Sayori responds sadly.

"Huh..." Natsuki looks down. She actually doesn't _want_ to return home.

"I know guys, better not to think about it right now though." Monika says.

But it's on their minds the entire walk back, as soon they return home, they're back to their problems again.

After walking in silence, mostly due to how tired they are, they reach their camp site and immediately start packing up their things.

"Don't forget anything!" Monika calls out.

"Is it me or are there a lot more things here somehow?" Natsuki asks.

"Probably just you." Monika responds.

"I'm gonna miss this area." Sayori sighs.

Monika walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I think we all will." Monika doesn't need to look at the other two to know they feel the same.

Natsuki finishes packing her stuff into a bag and stands up. "Is that everything?"

"One last check." Monika looks around the area to see if there's anything else. "Nope, that's all."

"Let's go home." Sayori says, with a slight smile.

"Ready girls?" Monika says, before getting into the driver's seat.

The rest of the girls get into the same spots they were in on their way to the camp.

"Hey where's my pink bag?" Natsuki scratches her head and looks around.

Yuri looks at Sayori in concern.

"Pink bag? What pink bag? MONIKA DRIVE!" Sayori squeaks.

Monika doesn't seem to be paying attention and pokes her head up. "Huh? Oh, yeah let's go!" She starts the car, and they're headed out!

Natsuki glances between the girls in confusion. "Am I going crazy?"

"Possibly." Yuri says, while flipping through her book. It felt wrong not to say something, but she didn't want to deal with tiny girl's anger.

The drive back will be longer this time considering Monika has to drop them off one by one. Although none of them are looking foward to it, it is part of life and they must accept it.


	10. Goodnight Doki! (End)

The drive back is more quiet than the first drive. Each girl is sleepy and they have another hour ahead of them.

"Can't believe we went to the top of the mountain, feels like ages ago already." Natsuki says.

"Indeed." Yuri says. "We also sat near a cliff." Yuri smiles at the memory.

"Ugh, I'm getting sick just thinking of that!" Natsuki holds her head.

"Don't forget the lake!" Monika says.

"Still... Sorry if I was acting weird..." Yuri's stomach aches with embarrasment.

Sayori's shakes her head. "Weird? It was fun!"

"Never thought I'd see the day you were comfortable enough to do something like that." Natsuki smirks. "It was pretty cool too!"

"If... If you say so." Yuri relaxes a little.

"Here's a little tip, if you take your friends on a camping trip, one of them would reveal their _boyfriend_." Monika wiggles her eyebrows.

Sayori pouts. "I see it was a mistake bringing up a boy. We're just friends!" She squeaks.

"Tall guy, brown and short-ish hair?" Monika asks

"What- how did you know!?" Sayori looks at Monika in shock.

"Oh I read your diary." Monika chuckles.

"I LEFT IT AT HOME THOUGH." Sayori shrieks.

"That... I was joking Sayori..." Monika smiles nervously.

"I... I know!" Sayori shrinks down. "I was joking too!" She looks around the other girls.

Natsuki snorts. "You have a diary?"

"No..." Sayori laughs nervously.

"Meh, I have one too." Natsuki shrugs.

"Me too." Yuri mumbles.

"Yeah so do I." Monika says.

Sayori facepalms.

"Anyways..." Monika says. "I knew I recognized that name, I knew that guy from a while ago. Somehow I never knew you two were friends."

"Childhood friends." Sayori says, proudly.

"Ah." Monika nods.

The girls continue their drive, Natsuki and Sayori both starting to fall asleep in the car and Yuri still reading her book. As they soon reach their hometown. Monika drops off Sayori at her place.

"Well, here you are Sayori." Monika gives a warm smile.

"Yeah..." Sayori nods sadly.

"What are ya gonna do when you get inside?" Natsuki asks.

"Sleep!" Sayori squeaks.

"As all of us will, I'm sure." Monika says, while smiling.

Sayori smiles back and hugs Monika and waves goodbye to the other two in the back seat. "Love you guys!" She yells as she hops away.

"We love you too!" Monika calls back. "One down, two to go." Monika stretches.

They head for Yuri's house next and as they reach it, Yuri prepares herself to say goodbye.

"Well... This was an amazing trip..." Yuri says, with a big smile.

Natsuku grabs and hugs Yuri. "See ya!" She says in a cheerful voice.

Yuri hugs back and waves to Monika.

"See you tomorrow Yuri." Monika waves back and they watch as Yuri enters her house.

"Ready Natsuki?" Monika asks.

"I guess." Natsuki responds.

They drive to Natsuki's place in silence, and as they reach her place they see a truck outside.

"Ugh... He's here..." Natsuki covers her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Monika asks.

"Yeah yeah." Natsuki exits the car.

Monika exits the car aswell and grabs Natsuki's arm and pulls her in for a hug.

Natsuki awkwardly hugs back.

"Be safe..." Monika whispers.

Natsuki looks at Monika in confusion. Does she know her living situation? Or is she just being a kind friend? Natsuki is too lazy to think too much into it. She hopes to avoid her dad and just head straight to bed. She waves to Monika and Monika waves back.

"Alright, one left to go." Monika drives herself to her place and she pulls into the driveway. "Hello awful life." She chuckles at her own joke before entering her place and heading to bed.

As they time passes, they all slowly fall asleep one by one, ready and eager for when they get to see eachother at school again the next day. Sayori has a whole lot to tell MC.

 **THE END**


End file.
